BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – MEMBERS of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force came in for high praises from the public for their recent success in the removal of two illegal firearms off the streets of the twin-island Federation.
Information reaching SKNVibes states that police have retrieved two pistols in as many days off the streets; one on Nevis and the other on St. Kitts.
This media house learnt that one man is in custody and is scheduled to appear before the District ‘C’ Magistrate’s Court today (Oct. 23) after he was charged with possession of a firearm.
SKNVibes was told that on Sunday (Oct. 20), officers on Nevis had approached a group of men who were engaged in a game of cards within a certain shop in Cotton Ground and one of them allegedly tried to dispose of a pistol.
The officers found the pistol and the group was taken into custody to assist police with their investigations.
However, when contacted this morning, this publication was told by an officer on Nevis that one member of the group, Miles Walters of Cotton Ground, was charged and was scheduled to appear before the Court today, where he would either be remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison or bailed.
The officer stated that the other members of the group were released without any of them being charged.
And on St. Kitts, a police release stated that Levi Smith of Cayon was arrested and charged with possession of firearm and possession of ammunition, which were committed on Monday (Oct. 21).
No additional details were provided by the police. However, this media house had visited both Upper and Lower Cayon and was told by some members of the former community that the incident did not take place on the date stated in the press release.
They claimed that shortly after 7:00 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 18), members of the Delta Squad and soldiers were seen on foot patrolling certain areas in Upper Cayon, where they were randomly stopping people and conducting searches.
“The officers were stopping people and searching them, and when Smith saw the officers approaching him he started to run. Some of the officers gave chase and caught him. But while running away from them, one of the officers claimed that he had a gun and threw it away when they were closing in on him. They subsequently arrested him and took him to the Cayon Police Station,” one resident said.
Speaking with a group that comprised several men and women from the community, SKNVibes was told that they were dissatisfied with recent changes made at that police station.
“There were only two officers that had shown tremendous interest for the people in this community. Earlier in the year we had Sergeant Caines, who was removed after he was promoted to Inspector and he is now heading the Traffic Department. He was an officer that regularly walked through both Lower and Upper Cayon and no one was afraid to talk to him. You could have stopped him at any time to state what your problem was and he would give a lending ear and even tried to solve it.
“But they removed him and brought a female. I am not going to comment on her…it does not worth the effort. However, earlier this month she was replaced by Sergeant Greaux. Like Inspector Caines, that young man is very knowledgeable, a professional and a people’s person. From the very first day of his arrival, he visited many homes in the community and held discussions with us. He had even told us not to be afraid to speak out whenever we see crime being committed in the community.
“Sergeant Greaux told us about some of the plans he had for the community and said that he wanted to institute a Community Safety Programme. One of his plans was to rid the community of guns and many of us vowed to give him our support. Therefore, when we saw the Delta Squad and the soldiers patrolling on foot, many of us realised that it was Sergeant Greaux’s initiative. But when a group of us went to the station to commend him, we found out that he too was sent to another station,” one community member said.
This media house located Sergeant Greaux at the Basseterre Police Station, where he is now based, in an attempt to get a comment on what the residents of Cayon said.
The Sergeant was very tight-lipped on the issue but did confirm that the Friday evening’s operation was his brainchild, but with the blessings of his superiors.
In his brief remarks, he said that he would like to thank the members of the Delta Squad and those from the Defence Force in conducting a successful operation.
He also, on behalf of the Commissioner and Ranks of the Police Force, extended gratitude to the members of the community “without whose assistance and cooperation the firearm would have still been on the street”.
Asked why he was transferred from Cayon Police Station after such a short stint, the Sergeant said, “No comment.”
